Equatorial Guinea faces challenge over US deportations

A coalition of five human rights and legal organisations lodged a complaint with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights against Equatorial Guinea, reports MSN. They allege the country has detained and forcibly returned migrants deported from the US to their home nations despite credible fears of persecution. The complaint, representing 14 African deportees, demands a halt to further removals, access to legal and medical aid, and improved detention conditions. The African Commission can issue urgent appeals and recommend friendly settlements for member states. It may refer cases to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, though directives are not legally binding. A similar case in eSwatini allowed detainees to meet with a lawyer after months of denied access. The case targets a Trump-era 'third country' deportation policy that sends migrants to nations other than their own when direct deportation is legally barred. Critics argue this undermines international protections by outsourcing expulsions to countries willing to facilitate return to unsafe homelands. Advocates view the legal action as a potential precedent to pressure African states that have accepted US deportees under similar arrangements. According to the complaint, some deportees have endured arbitrary and indefinite detention in Equatorial Guinea, with legal and medical access denied. Six have already been forcibly repatriated to their home countries, where they risk torture, sexual violence, imprisonment, or death. Lawyers have lost contact with some individuals, underscoring the urgency of the case.

Meanwhile, the Central African Republic (CAR) has agreed to take in migrants from other countries deported by the US, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, the latest example of the Trump administration striking deals with African states to accelerate removals, reports TimesLIVE. The deal with CAR was discussed during a 18 May meeting in Bangui with a US delegation led by Christian Jové Ehrhardt, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration, a Central African government official told Reuters. A diplomat based in the region, also speaking on condition of anonymity, also said a deal had been reached. CAR has endured repeated cycles of unrest since independence from France in 1960, leaving most of its 5.5m people in poverty. President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who won a third term in an election held last December, has turned to Russia for security support, though he has also signalled a renewed interest in Western partnerships for critical minerals. Neither the Central African government source nor the diplomat based in the region had details on how many migrants would be sent to the country, their nationalities or when the flights might start, though one recent court judgment shows attempts have already started. US District Judge Lee Rosenthal on 22 May issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of a Turkish national, noting that US officials had planned to remove the person to CAR on 26 May. An official at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed to Reuters that the agency would be involved in assisting deportees once they arrive in CAR. The IOM has already provided assistance to third-country deportees elsewhere in Africa.

Full MSN report

Full TimesLIVE report